Snowboarding: It's Halfpiping Hot

The halfpipe competition, with its music and its crowd interaction, could become the beach volleyball of the Winter Olympics. It's a TV-friendly contest, and the U.S. should dominate. The halfpipe is a U-shaped channel carved in the snow in which riders do lip tricks and airs, including rotations, before landing. Amplitude, the height of each trick off the lip of the pipe, is key, as is style.

Every rider on the American team has a shot at the podium. Danny Kass, 19, is a show in himself. He blends natural talent with technical style and a blatant disregard for Olympic trappings...